Born in Scotland, Witherspoon immigrated to the U.S. in the 1760s and later became president of the College of New Jersey (now known as Princeton University).

He strongly supported the Thirteen Colonies in their fight to obtain freedom from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Prominent attendees at the event included future president Woodrow Wilson, Vice President James S. Sherman, former Secretary of State John W. Foster, and British Ambassador James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce.

John Witherspoon (1722–1794) was born in Scotland and immigrated to the Thirteen Colonies in the 1760s, at the urging of Benjamin Rush and Richard Stockton.

[4][5] According to historian James Moore Goode, Witherspoon "was highly respected by his colleagues for his unfaltering devotion to independence and to the unifying of the colonies into one nation possessing a strong central government."

Witherspoon lost his sight after an eye infection in 1792 and died two years later at his house, Tusculum.

Other works Couper is known for include the statue of Joseph Bryan in Richmond, a bust of Charles Darwin for the American Museum of Natural History, Captain John Smith in Jamestown, and a statue of New York City Mayor Abram Hewitt.

Amongst the attendees were former Secretary of State John W. Foster, Presbyterians from around the country, foreign diplomats, and around 200 descendants of Witherspoon.

Vice President James S. Sherman then gave brief remarks followed by Commissioner MacFarland, secretary of the WMA, who presented the statue to Washingtonians.

Since the memorial is on federal land, church members were told it would require an Act of Congress to approve its relocation.

Despite years of lobbying, government officials told the church the memorial is at a prominent site where many people can see it, thus denying their request.

[4][10] On July 14, 1978, a group of fourteen American Revolution Statuary, including the Witherspoon memorial, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The following year on March 3, 1979, the group of statues was added to the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites.

[14] The bronze statue of Witherspoon, measuring approximately 8-feet (2.4 m) tall, stands on a 9-foot (2.7 m) pedestal made of Stoney Creek granite.